


I Understand

by hidingoutbackstage



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: F/M, I Tried, and bucky has a new metal arm i guess, so have this, takes place after civil war, was in a winterwidow mood
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-27
Updated: 2017-01-27
Packaged: 2018-09-20 05:57:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,122
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9478586
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hidingoutbackstage/pseuds/hidingoutbackstage
Summary: Nat gets captured when infiltrating Hydra and they brainwash her like they did with the Winter Soldier. The Avengers are all worried for her, but a certain someone has an idea of how to get her back.





	

Well, it’s not like Nat had been killed, but she was practically as good as gone. Her being kidnapped was an unchecked variable, but how was anyone supposed to know she’d be brainwashed? How would anyone know that she’d basically become Winter Soldier level of combat, and wouldn’t recognize anyone. When they were finally able to rescue her, she attacked multiple guards with nothing but her bare hands (and feet) and maimed one of them tremendously, while the others had minor to moderate wounds.

“Dang, can that girl throw a punch,” Nick Fury commented once Nat had finally been restrained. She was in a cell with 3 walls made of stone, and the fourth one was a window of bullet-proof glass. Nat had been stripped of any weapons (and most of her uniform, she was only wearing a black tank top and black leggings, and she was barefoot) so she wasn’t too much of a threat. The only weapon she currently had was her own mind, which was focused on one thing: killing any member of S.H.I.E.L.D. that crossed her.

“She can do more than just throw a punch,” Steve added. Nat was sitting right next to the window, menacingly staring at everyone.

“I feel like she’s calculating all of our deaths, right now, in her head,” Tony remarked. “What? I’m just saying,” he said in response to everyone’s annoyed looks and groans.

“This really isn’t the time for sarcasm, Tony,” Steve said fiercely.

“Easy, Rogers. Your girlfriend isn’t exactly in stable condition, so this is probably not the best time to get upset.”

“She’s not my girlfriend,” Steve muttered, frowning.

“Let’s not discuss relationships right now,” Fury said, rubbing his temples exhaustedly. “We are discussing what is going to happen to Miss Romanov.”

“We need to get her to remember herself. And all of us,” Bucky said, speaking up for the first time since Nat had been brought back to headquarters. “Right now, all we are to her is enemies to be taken out.”

“Can’t we just un-brainwash her or whatever we did with winter over here?” Clint said, jerking a thumb in Bucky’s direction.

“It’s not that easy,” Steve pointed out. “Takes a strong and prominent memory to remind them of their past. I mean, likely someone could do it, but…”

“No one has an incredibly special bond with her,” Wanda said, walking into the room. “I heard she was in quarantine, and wanted to see if I could be of any use,” she explained to the people giving her puzzled looks. “My point is, it’s likely that she’s kept from forming a bond with anyone for…her own reasons. If it was someone she really cared about, they might be able to get through to her. But without a connection-”

“We can’t bring her back,” Bucky finished, looking at Nat solemnly, who had given up glaring through the glass and was now curled up in a corner, her hair falling over her face. ‘Poor Nat,’ he thought. He understood what she’d been through, and he wanted to try and help her, but couldn’t think of a way how.

“Barnes, is there any other way to bring her memories back?” Fury asked.

“I don’t know. I mean, mine were only temporary, which is why they had to continue wiping my brain and putting me into cyro-sleep. But they may have changed it since then. It could be permanent.” He realized how unoptimistic he sounded. “I’m not trying to be a downer, I’m just stating the facts.”

“Well, we need their plans as soon as possible, and considering they took her flash drive when they brainwashed her, all we can hope for is that they’re in her mind,” Tony said. “If not, then she was at risk for nothing.”

“There has to be someone she trusts that could remind her.” Wanda walked over to the window and looked at Nat. It was hard to tell what was on her mind. She gently placed her hand on the glass and smiled at Nat empathetically. ‘Of course. A weapon in a cage. She probably understands, and feels bad.’ Bucky thought.

“What about Steve?” Tony suggested.

“What about me?”

“She took a liking to you,” Clint said, giving Steve a smile. It wasn’t a regular smile, it was a ‘I-know-something-embarrassing-about-you’ smile.

“I mean, we’ve been partners on a few missions, that doesn’t mean-”

“You’re our best shot,”

“You think?”

“Why not?”

“What about James?” Wanda interjected, not lifting her gaze from Nat.

“Excuse me?” Bucky asked.

“You’ve been through this.” She finally turned around and looked Bucky dead in the eye. “You might be able to get through to her.”

“She has a point,” Clint said, crossing his arms.

“I don’t know…” Bucky rubbed the back of his neck, uncomfortably. Of course he wanted to bring Natasha back, he was just worried that he’d lose his nerve when he had to talk to her in her current state. Although, there didn’t seem to be any better options. Steve just wouldn’t understand her.

“Do you at least have some idea of how to bring her to her senses?” Fury inquired.

“Well yeah, one-”

“That’s more than any of us have. I say we send him in there,” Tony said optimistically.

“What if he gets hurt?” Steve asked worriedly.

“I have this thing, bud.” Bucky pretended to flex his metal arm. “I should be fine. She’s unarmed anyway.”

“Just-stay safe, man.” Steve insisted.

“I know everything that Hydra can put in there, Steve. I have an advantage, and the upper hand-pun intended.” At least that go Steve to smile. “I’ll be fine,” he reassured.

“If it’s settled, then…” Tony tossed Bucky a small metal and plastic object. “It’s like a Bluetooth. Place it in your ear, and you’ll hear us in there. We can already hear you because of the mics installed in the-containment.” He glanced nervously at Wanda, who was still standing by the window. “If something goes wrong, just-”

“If I don’t have it under control, I’ll just use the code word ‘spider.’ Honestly, I’ll be fine. I know she wants to kill all of us, but I can probably handle her.”

“All right then. When I unlock the door, you go right in,” Fury said, his finger hovering over a button. Bucky placed his hand lightly on the handle.

“You sure about this, Buck?” Steve asked.

“Yeah, I’m sure.” ‘Remember. This is for Nat,’ he thought.

“And…go.”

The door was unlocked, and Bucky stepped quickly inside, shutting it immediately. Nat up and made eye contact with him, and he half expected her to attack. She even looked like she was ready to pounce, but for some reason, she held back and stayed in the corner.

“Hey,” Bucky said softly.

She looked hesitant, but still responded with an emotionless “Hello.”

“You doing okay?” he asked. ‘She hasn’t tried to attack me yet. That’s a good sign.’

“I’m in this room. How do you suppose I am?” she said, her voice full of venom. Bucky remained calm, the last thing he wanted to do was seem nervous or vulnerable around this side of Black Widow.

“Well, probably confused, because for some reason you haven’t tried to attack me yet.” She looked down and didn’t respond. Bucky took that as a signal and stepped closer. “Why haven’t you?”

“You weren’t who I was supposed to kill. It was supposed to be, take out the Avengers, and anyone who tries to protect them. You’re not an avenger, and you haven’t tried to protect them, so I don’t need to kill you.” She bit her lip like she was debating whether to tell him more.

Bucky’s earpiece buzzed slightly. “Keep probing.” Steve’s voice came through. “Try to get her to remember something.”

“Well, if your mission was to take out the Avengers, you’ll have to take out yourself.” Nat looked at him quizzically. “You’re an Avenger. Or did you forget that?”

“Barnes…” Fury’s voice warned.

Natasha was standing up in a flash. “What do you mean? I’m not a member of S.H.I.E.LD., and I am certainly no avenger.”

“Right. ‘Hail Hydra’ and all that stuff, right?” Bucky said sarcastically. “You know, Nat.” Bucky took another step towards her, even though everything about her stance and expression screamed ‘ready to fight.’ “I think you like me. You haven’t tried to hurt me once since I came in here.”

And then the spider attacked. In one second she lunged forward and elbowed Bucky in the throat. He was ready for her, however, and immediately grabbed her arm and twisted it backward. Nat gave a small grunt of pain and swung her leg around, kicking Bucky in the back of the leg. His knee bent a little bit, but he held his ground, pulling her arm with the rest of her body and slamming her into the wall. He pinned her there for a few seconds and twisted her arm painfully behind her back, digging his metal fingers into her wrist.

“You know Natasha, I’ve been there before. I’m smarter than you think,” he whispered as she squirmed against his grasp.

Nat didn’t respond for a moment, instead she just pulled out of Bucky’s grip, grabbed hold of his metal arm and slammed it into his chest. She then pulled his head back and slammed it against the wall.

“You okay Barnes?”

“Doing-just great,” Bucky grunted. Still slightly disoriented after the head smash. “I have to admit Nat, you’re pretty fierce.”

“Shut up,” Nat said through gritted teeth. Bucky found a weak point in her stance-her left leg was bent and supporting more weight-and he kicked it hard. She fell to the ground, but she was still holding onto his arm, so he went tumbling to the ground with her. She wrestled her legs around his head, but he knew that was her signature move, so he pushed her on to her back and pinned her down. He put his metal arm on her throat, applying enough pressure that she could still breathe, but it was a struggle. “I don’t have to listen to you. You and the rest of your pathetic friends are just my mission, and I never fail my missions,” she snarled.

‘Gee, sounds familiar,’ Bucky thought. He tilted his head and looked at her strangely.

“Don’t you at least recognize me?” he asked.

Her expression went from hatred to slightly confused. ‘Stage One.’ He released his grip on her neck slightly. Her eyes suddenly seemed distant. ‘Stage Two. Memories coming back.’ He could practically see the images flooding into her brain. He pulled his hand from her neck entirely. Then Nat’s face twisted up like she was about to cry. ‘Stage Three. Realization.’ And then the tears began falling.

Nat pulled her legs back and curled up into a little ball, sobbing.

“Hey, hey, it’s all right, you’re fine now,” Bucky pulled her into a hug and began rubbing up and down her arm soothingly. “It’s okay, you’re safe.”

“Did-did I hurt anyone?” Nat sniffled.

“I mean, you attacked a couple of guys who had to restrain you, but no one died, no.” Nat tried to control her tears, and Bucky gave her a reassuring squeeze. “You’re okay now. You’re alive, it should be fine.” He looked through the window at the staring Avengers. “She’s good guys. Probably has a few bruises, and maybe a little bit of memory loss-just a side effect, but she’s all right. She’s herself again.”

The door opened and several guards rushed in and brought Nat to her feet. “She’s going to…somewhere else,” Fury tried to explain at Bucky’s nervousness. “We need to see what she remembers.” Bucky nodded and followed the guards out of the cell.

“You did it, man.” Steve came up and wrapped his arm around Bucky’s neck. “I knew she had a soft spot for you.”

“Oh, shut up.” He gave Steve a little shove, then flinched when he realized he did it with his left arm. The hero didn’t seem to notice.

“I told you she liked him,” Wanda said, walking up. She gave Steve a smug smile. “$20 by this afternoon.”

Bucky pretended to be shocked. “I can’t believe you guys bet on Natasha’s affection for me.” He got the two to laugh. “But seriously, $20?”

“That’s a lot less now than you remember it,” Steve reminded him. Bucky glanced at Nat being led to an elevator. She turned towards him and gave him a small smile and smaller wave. He smiled and waved back.

“And there you have it. The relationship blossoms,” Clint said dramatically.

‘Maybe,’ Bucky thought. “We’ll just have to see then.”


End file.
